Tournament will feature eight European and six South American teams and will occupy the Confederations Cup window. Premiere will not be in Qatar on account of the climate and has no definite location
by Joanna de Assis and Martín Fernandez — Miami, USA Fifa announced on Friday the creation of a new Club World Cup, to be played every four years, with the presence of 24 teams. The first edition will be organized in June and July 2021, in a place to be defined, occupying the window left by the Confederations Cup on the world calendar.
The new competition will have 24 clubs: eight from Europe, six from South America and the others divided among the other continents. Fifa has left for each continental confederation to set the classification criteria for the World Cup. –
There have been many constructive discussions with the President of Uefa. We’re advancing on this matter. We have a responsibility to make decisions, and we take the decision, and in the next few weeks these discussions will bear fruit. Today there are clubs that represent more than one city, one country. There are clubs that are international, have fans on all sides. It will be important for them to try to be world champions – said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Europe’s boycott threat
Hours before the announcement of Fifa, while Council members were still meeting, the European giants made an official threat to boycott the new competition. The Association of European Clubs (ECA) stated through a letter to Fifa that would boycott the tournament, for being “fronted against the approval” of the new format and that “no member of the ECA will compete in this competition”.
The document is signed by representatives of 15 of the largest clubs in Europe, including Juventus, Real Madrid, Ajax, PSG, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Benfica. It is another battle in the war between Fifa and the great European clubs, which also opposed the increase in the number of participants of the World Cup for 48 selections–but were defeated.
In place of the Confederations Cup
The reformed Club World will replace in the calendar two tournaments that were considered public failure, criticism and technical quality: the Old World Club (disputed by seven clubs in December) and the cup of Confederations, which disappears from the calendar.
There will still be two editions of the Old World with seven clubs, in 2019 and 2020. The 2021 edition has not yet been defined, since the summer heat in Qatar, in the middle of the year, would unfeasible the practice of high-level football. In this way, the tournament will not be a test event for the World Cup facilities.
